


Verge

by babiee22



Category: Produce 101 (TV), UP10TION, X1 (Korea Band)
Genre: Angst, Business!AU, Humiliation, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:40:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21546214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babiee22/pseuds/babiee22
Summary: “He was in love with you,” he said with a small smile, “and you knew, not in the past though. You just knew it recently.”
Relationships: Kim Wooseok | Wooshin/Lee Jinhyuk
Kudos: 18





	Verge

Surveying the sea of beautiful people occupying the trendy bar, Kim Wooseok felt a slight thrill of the hunt. At the very least, one of these young trainee-to-be-stars would be desperate enough to talk to him about a contract. “Okay, Wooseok,” he said to himself. “This is your night.”

For the past three years, Wooseok had been running his father’s talent agency in Gangnam. The senior Kim had died in a skiing accident, boosting Wooseok to a top position that he was hardly qualified for. He was twenty-five at the time.

Now, at the age of twenty-eight, he had accomplished little with the once well-regarded agency. Other people in the industry now mocked SHIN Entertainment for only signing on D-list celebrities, and then putting them into sub-par projects. It was a dismal time for Kim Wooseok.

People would avoid him if they saw him walking towards them at parties. Wearing a stiff threepiece suit, his unpleasant bland, brown hair falling on his face, and donning a pathetically desperate grin, Wooseok would stride around with his hand out, shaking vigorously with any well-connected person he could find. Wooseok is short, and paled in comparison to the shining stars that event planners would stock at these types of parties.

“How many times do I have to tell you, Wooseok?” one such star sighed, annoyed that the greasy talent agent had caught him. “I already signed on with LJH Entertainment.”

Wooseok’s grinning expression barely flickered at the mention of the talent agency that had been taking over South Korea like an unstoppable force. Lee Jinhyuk, at the same age as Wooseok, was the youngest talent agent to build his own company and make it the most profitable in five years. Jinhyuk’s people had languished during SHIN Entertainment’s heyday, while Wooseok’s father had been alive. However, now that the bungling son had inherited the company, LJH Entertainment blasted to the top.

“I know that,” Wooseok rasped, “but you had been a loyal talent at SHIN Entertainment for ten years, my father built your career!”

The star shook his head sadly, “And you were going to destroy it. I couldn’t risk it. I’m sorry Wooseok.” He clasped Wooseok’s shoulder with a conciliatory grip, and walked away, Wooseok staring murderously at his back as he went. He glanced around at the people smirking at him, and rubbed his chest nervously. “Tough crowd…” he murmured, a phrase his father loved to say constantly. Taking out an old pocketsized notebook, he quickly crossed out the star’s name and shoved the pad back into his pocket. With a shrug, he headed towards the bar, where several beautiful women were standing, waiting to be discovered.

It was a futile task; as soon as they heard the name “SHIN Entertainment”, they would rudely turn and walk away from Wooseok. He tried flirting, which was virtually pointless. He didn’t have the physical presence that women found attractive, nor did he have the charm. Usually, Wooseok came off like a sleazy car salesman.

Of course, ‘sleazy’ was not a false term to pin on Wooseok, for he did try to pull underhanded tricks at times, misrepresenting himself, lying that he was from a different talent agency so that he could get phone numbers from unsuspecting hopefuls. Most people in the industry were aware of Wooseok’s antics, but viewed it pityingly, a son desperately trying to live up to his father’s image.

“God…” Wooseok said, leaning against the bar as he slurped down a cheap glass of wine. All of the women who had been crowding the bar dispersed when he had arrived, as if he were some leper. With a sigh, Wooseok decided that he would just drink the night away.

Of course, that was when Lee Jinhyuk decided to show up.

Wooseok could hear the clapping cascade starting from the front of the room, moving back to where he was at the bar. People stopped their conversations midsentence as the word spread that Jinhyuk had arrived. The very slight chance that he would have shown up was the only reason why most of them were there. Then the excited whispering erupted as people tried to figure out where he was standing, so that they could inch towards him.

Wooseok scoffed at the transparent adoration, just before trying to crane his neck high enough to see the hotshot CEO Agency.

Jinhyuk certainly stood out. He was tall, with freshly new dark hair, wearing a demure, but modern suit that no doubt cost thousands. Wooseok looked down at his own Sears three-piece and smiled derisively. His eyes moved up when he heard the crowd grow louder, indicating that Wooseok was coming closer to the bar. Quickly straightening his jacket, he moved forward, hoping to intercept the industry giant.

“Jinhyuk!” Wooseok shouted, jumping up to get the man’s attention, “Jinhyuk, over here! It’s Kim Wooseok!”

The taller man stopped upon hearing Wooseok’s name. He turned his head, and everyone around him glared down at whoever dare shout out Jinhyuk’s name so personally. “Wooseok?” He smiled when he caught sight of the other talent agent. “Kim Wooseok?”

Truth be told, they knew each other. Truth be told… Jinhyuk had interned at SHIN Entertainment. Wooseok hated him even then. They were the same age, but Jinhyuk had accomplished so much more with his A-type personality, and Wooseok’s father simply adored him. Wooseok tried to keep up at the agency, where his father had given him a concurrent internship with Jinhyuk. Unfortunately, Wooseok just did not have that killer instinct, and everyone knew it.

Jinhyuk walks through the crowds of people, and walked up to Wooseok with a friendly smile.

He placed his large hand at the small of Wooseok’s back, and gently guided him towards the bar. Wooseok gritted his teeth at being handled like some bimbo floozy, but ignored his rising hatred towards Jinhyuk.

At the bar, Jinhyuk ordered two whiskeys and smiled down at Wooseok. “I haven’t seen you in awhile,” he said as he put an elbow on the bar, and clasped his hands. People were watching them conspicuously, reminding Wooseok to keep this conversation going as long as possible so that everyone could see that he knew important people. Jinhyuk’s eyebrows rose with curiosity at

Wooseok’s momentary space-out. “Anyone in there?”

Wooseok bounced back to reality. “Sorry, of course, it’s been too long.” Wooseok chuckled.

“How’s the business going?”

Jinhyuk smiled knowingly at Wooseok, well aware that everyone on the planet knew that LJH Entertainment. was the fastest growing talent agency in the city. “Are you trying to play coy, Wooseok?” Jinhyuk smirked, “We’ve known each other far too long to do bullshit small talk.” Wooseok flinched at Jinhyuk’s harsh tone, and glanced again at the people watching them out of the corner of their eyes. “Don’t worry Wooseok, they can’t hear us.” Jinhyuk said, catching Wooseok’s expression, “So tell me, how close are you to suicide? Has SHIN Entertainment filed a chapter 7 yet?”

Wooseok looked down at his drink, trying to emit fake laughter along with Jinhyuk, as he battled the urge to smack the condescending prick on the face. “We’re still going strong Jinhyuk,” he was finally able to say. “Nothing to worry about."

He set the glass down on the bar, and tried to walk away. Nothing waswor th listening to Lee Jinhyuk brag about his success. However, as Wooseok began to step towards the front, Jinhyuk grabbed his arm, and jerked him back. It was so fast that no one would have noticed, or probably thought Wooseok stumbled because he was drunk.

“Why don’t you just sell the agency to me, Wooseok?” Jinhyuk said, his fake smile now firmly back in place, “You’re running it into the ground, your father’s legacy doesn’t deserve that.” His dark es glinting as he glared at Wooseok.

“It’s my agency now,” Wooseok hissed back, as he tried to claw at Jinhyuk’s grip from his arm. He staggered a bit, and Jinhyuk had to hold him up. Maybe he was a bit more drunk than he had thought. Glancing around nervously again, paranoid that everyone was laughing at him, Wooseok finally was able to pull his arm away. “Tell me,” Jinhyuk said mockingly as Wooseok tried to regain his composure, “What was you tactic tonight? Try to flirt your way into a number, or bribe someone?”

Wooseok shook his head, which only made his vision swim. “I don’t play dirty.”

These words only seemed to make Jinhyuk angry. He scoffed, and took a last sip of his drink. “Fine Wooseok, let your father’s agency go up in flames, it shouldn’t really matter since he’s dead.” As soon as Jinhyuk said this, his anger seemed to dissipate, and his model-handsome features melted back into a pleasant, but distant smile. “Well, it was nice talking to an old friend,” he said casually, and walked off without a goodbye, back into the crowd of his adoring fans.

Wooseok watched him with a blurry gaze, and then turned back to the bar, only to come face to face with the bartender. “You can act?” Wooseok mumbled, “Need representation?” He pushed a shaking hand into his pocket, and pulled out a crumpled business card. “We represent every kind of talent.”

The bartender looked down on him blankly. “Even if I can act, I don’t think I would sign with you,” he said, “Maybe that guy… but not you.”

Wooseok let out a choked laugh, and nodded his head as he tried to flatten the business card on the bar. More people converged towards them, taking up the bartender’s attention. Wooseok listened in as they all gossiped about what brand Jinhyuk was wearing (Armani!), and whom he was dating (she’s only twenty!). Lee Jinhyuk… he was the king, and he had a cool name.

As he was spacing out again, Wooseok noticed a young and glamorous woman trying to get his attention. He shook his head again, and looked at her. “Yes?”

She giggled at his slurring. “How do you know Jinhyuk sajangnim?” she shouted over the din. Wooseok smiled ruefully at her question; berating himself for thinking she might want to talk to him about a contract. “We used to work together,” he mumbled vaguely. This seemed to excite the girl. “Really?” she shrieked, “Do you think you could get me an audition with him?”

Wooseok snorted, and looked at the girl with disbelief, “Are you serious?” he asked, “There is no way in hell that I would do that.”

The girl was undeterred. “Pleassseee,” she whined, “Just refer me!” Wooseok blinked at this, “Refer you?” he said distantly. The girl nodded enthusiastically, “Yeah! Look, Jinhyuk sajangnim just walked out the door, you could run now and ask him!” As she said this, she ran a dainty hand down Jinhyuk’s arm, but he was already checked out of the conversation. “Excuse me,” he mumbled and headed for the door.

Once he reached the long line of limos waiting outside, he glanced up and down the street, finally catching a glimpse of Lee Jinhyuk’s dark hair as the man stepped into a Hummer limo.

“Figures…” Wooseok said to himself as he ran for the monstrous car. “Jinhyuk!” he shouted, “Jinhyuk!”

As Wooseok reached the car, he slammed a palm against the door that Jinhyuk had climbed through. He heard the engine start, and starting pounding as hard as he could. “Jinhyuk!”

Suddenly, one of the tinted windows rolled down, and Wooseok ran over to look inside. Lee Jinhyuk was calmly sitting back in a plush chair as he stared straight towards the front of the car.

“What do you want now?” he said, barely turning his head.

Wooseok was breathing heavily from running, and had to bend over to catch his breath, putting his hand on the rim of the window to keep steady. Finally, as he stood back up, he saw Jinhyuk staring at his pale long fingers with an odd intensity. “Sorry,” Wooseok said, moving his hand away from the car. This seemed to break Jinhyuk of his reverie, as he looked up into Wooseok’s eyes. “Why did you pounding on my car?”

Wooseok took one last breath, and then broke into the speech that he had been planning during the sprint from the bar. “Listen Jinhyuk, your agency is big, you guys must be only signing on the best right now, so maybe you could send the castoffs my way?” His eyes were wide as he started to breath heavily again.

Jinhyuk’s expression was unreadable for a moment, as if he was considering Wooseok’s words, but then he smirked. “Why would I do that, Wooseok?” Leaning forward, he grabbed Wooseok’s collar through the window, and dragged the man towards the car. “Why would I ever do anything to help you?” His gaze was unwavering from Wooseok’s, who could suddenly see how much hate was built up behind those dark eyes. “Please…” Wooseok whispered. He brought his hands up to clasp the one holding his collar. “Please, Jinhyuk.”

The grip was released, and Jinhyuk withdrew his arm. Wooseok had to jump back quickly as Jinhyuk swung the car door open, and beckoned the smaller man towards him. “Get in,” he ordered. Wooseok paused momentarily, trying to figure out how he could get into the car without awkwardly climbing over Jinhyuk. Turns out, he couldn’t. Placing one hand on the man’s leg, he hoisted himself up, and climbed around Jinhyuk. He sat down rigidly next to the taller man, and said, “Wow, you would think that a car this big would be easier to get into.”

Jinhyuk ignored him, and ordered the driver to go on. They sat in silence for a moment, as Jinhyuk seemed to gather his thoughts. Wooseok watched the man’s stern face, and wondered what he was thinking. “So…” he said.

Jinhyuk looked at him suddenly, causing Wooseok to glance away. “So, Kim Wooseok… here are the terms,” without warning, he pulled Wooseok down to his knees on the floor of the car, in between Jinhyuk’s legs. “I think its pretty clear what you need to do.”

Wooseok couldn’t help but stare at Jinhyuk’s crotch. “You… you must be joking,” he said, as his mind started to sober. He grimaced as Jinhyuk threaded his fingers through Wooseok’s brown hair, and pulled his head closer. “Why would I joke about this?” he started to run his hand over Wooseok’s head, as if he were petting him. “You’re the one who wants all of my extra trainee, why should that be free?” Wooseok’s mind was racing a mile per minute as he tried to rationalize what was happening. His father’s agency was on the brink of failure, his only legacy. If Wooseok could somehow wrangle the castoff trainee from Jinhyuk's entertainment…

He inched forward, and placed a hand on Jinhyuk’s leg, as he started to reach for the zipper on the man’s designer pants. Suddenly, Jinhyuk knocked Wooseok’s hand away, and shoved the man back on to the floor. “You’re disgusting,” he said quietly, looking down on Wooseok.

Sitting up, Wooseok looked at Jinhyuk as his head reeled. “What?”

There was no answer as Jinhyuk tapped an intercom button, signaling that the driver should stop. “Get out,” he said, glaring at Wooseok. The smaller man moved slowly towards the door, unbelieving of what was happening. As he stepped out of the car, he turned to look at Jinhyuk.

“You’re a cruel prick,” he said, swaying slightly, “I can’t imagine how you live with yourself.”

Jinhyuk didn’t react visually to Wooseok’s words, but said, “You’re not even worth hating Kim, I’m surprised you haven’t found some hole to crawl in and die.” He shut the door with a slam, and the car drove on without Wooseok. The young CEO agency tried desperately to hold back tears, and started to pull out his cell phone to call a cab.

However, when he looked up, he saw that the Hummer had stopped a few yards away, and the door was wide open. Standing there for a moment, Wooseok contemplated his options.

There were none.

He put his phone back into his pocket, and ran towards the car. Jinhyuk was once again staring rigidly at the front of the car. “You have no pride, Wooseok,” he said coldly, “If it were me, I would have walked away.”

Wooseok nodded, “Jinhyuk… I’m not you.” With that, he clamored into the car, this time without being self-conscious about touching Jinhyuk. He was about to get back into position between Jinhyuk’s knees, when the larger man grasped him by the upper arm, and pulled him up on to his lap. “That’s not going to be enough,” he said tersely, his gaze unwavering as he looked into Wooseok’s eyes. “We’re going to my house, and you are spending the night.”

Wooseok blinked, “What… why?” He tried to lean back, away from Jinhyuk, but the other man had too strong of a grip on him, “Isn’t this humiliating enough?” Wooseok asked, panicking.

Jinhyuk seemed confused for a moment, his eyebrows knotting.

“You think I’m trying to humiliate you?” he said, his grip tightening somewhat on Wooseok’s arms.

Wooseok scoffed, “Of course, what else would it be? If you actually wanted sex, there are a million hot and young people falling over themselves to be in bed with you,” he said, glaring at Jinhyuk.

The other man considered these words, and then nodded. “I guess you know me better than I know myself Wooseok.” He leaned back, pulling Wooseok closer towards him, as he started to pull the smaller man’s jacket off. “I am trying to humiliate you, and no, that would not have been enough.” He paused to look at Wooseok’s eyes, and then ripped away the man’s vest. “I want complete humiliation.”

Before he could start on destroying Wooseok’s cheap dress shirt, the brunette stopped him, and said, “But this is the deal… you will give me the castoffs, right?” He stared imploringly at Jinhyuk, wondering if he still had time to back out.

“Correct,” Jinhyuk replied, knocking Wooseok’s hand away as he started tugging on the shirt. He smirked, “It shouldn’t surprise me that you’re so scheming, Wooseok.” With that, he leaned up, and roughly caught Wooseok’s lips with his own, grabbing Wooseok’s hair, as he demanded entry with his tongue. Growing frustrated with the buttons, he tore the shirt away, and laid Wooseok down on his back, as he loomed over the smaller man, never breaking contact with the kiss.

Wooseok pushed away slightly, but Jinhyuk ignored this as he started to tug Wooseok’s pants down. Finally, while appraising Wooseok’s naked form, Jinhyuk smirked. “Complete humiliation,” he repeated, and then pushed down.

For the rest of the encounter, Jinhyuk was surprisingly gentle.


End file.
